Law keeps casinos open if state shuts
ATLANTIC CITY - A law signed yesterday will keep casinos open even if the state government shuts down. Gov. Corzine signed a bill that permits Atlantic City's 11 gaming halls to temporarily police themselves without state inspectors if New Jersey fails to have a budget in place by July 1, as required by law.
ATLANTIC CITY - A law signed yesterday will keep casinos open even if the state government shuts down.
Gov. Corzine signed a bill that permits Atlantic City's 11 gaming halls to temporarily police themselves without state inspectors if New Jersey fails to have a budget in place by July 1, as required by law.
Two years ago, Atlantic City casinos lost about $55 million when they were shut down for three days during the July Fourth holiday period.
Corzine said the new law ensures that "the kind of economic loss and disruption that occurred in people's lives in 2006 will not be necessary."
The law also allows the governor to unilaterally shut down a casino and require it to pay 10 times the normal fine for infractions when inspectors are off the job.
The law also applies to racetracks, but not the state lottery.
"This is a positive occasion that arose from a very difficult time," said Joe Corbo, president of the Casino Association of New Jersey. "Directly after the shutdown, we resolved that this could not occur again."
In 2006, the state inspectors were not deemed essential personnel like state police and could not be paid during the shutdown. Without inspectors, the casinos were not permitted to stay open.
